Third Time's the Charm
by Jamalyn
Summary: Pre-8th season reitteration of Mulder and Scully admit...


Third Times the Charm var PUpage="76001089"; var PUprop="geocities";  var yviContents='http://us.toto.geo.yahoo.com/toto?s=76001089 *****************************************  
Title: Third Time's the Charm  
Written by: Jamalyn Rascher  
Disclaimer: Everything X-Files, including  
characters belongs to Chris Carter and 1013.  
Rating: PG  
Spoiler: N/A  
Email: [stdjdr13@shsu.edu][1]  
Summary: Mulder, after much effort convinces  
Scully that his feelings are true.   
***************************************** 

Scully sat at Mulder's desk, looking over their newest case file Skinner had sent down. So far she hadn't see anything out of the ordinary to spark her interest, or Mulder's for that matter. It was all very strait forward. A string of similar homicides, possibly a serial killer. She couldn't understand why this had been sent down to them. Somewhere, something smelled peculiar.

Just then, Mulder walked in to the office. Scully had been wondering what held him up. He was never this late. Not to imply that he was late, no not at all. In fact he had still managed to beat most everyone else to the office. Mulder was just late for Mulder and that was odd. In fact, she was hard pressed think of the last time she had beaten Mulder into the office. 

"Your late." Scully said, more curtly than she had planned. Well honestly, she had planed on not saying anything. Now the remark just hung in the air. Scully tried a short smile to take the edge off of what she had said, but if Mulder had even heard her, he didn't show it. He smiled back, just a short happy 'my world is perfect' kind of smile, rare for Mulder, and nodded his head to some unheard tune. Scully tried to nod back, but somehow her rhythm was off. Moment by moment, the feeling that everyone but her knew some great secrete, was building.

Scully flipped through the case file one last time before sliding it along the desk towards Mulder who was still standing in the doorway. He looked at it as if he were slightly perplexed its presence. "Skinner has sent this down, along with a couple of plane tickets. He wants us to go check it out. Scully told him. Mulder just nodded, seemingly deep in thought. Well aware that Mulder had yet to say anything, and with the silence becoming more unbearable with each second, Scully decided to make and exit to the coffee room up stairs. And so, with a short nod she excused herself, skirted around Mulder who was already making his way towards the desk chair and headed for the door. Then, just as she was about to reach the relative safety of the hallway, he spoke up. "By the way, Scully, good morning." Mulder smiled, and she smiled in return, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that he was up to something.

*********************

After retrieving her coffee and letting the first few sips calm her, Scully began to think clearly again. In fact, the more she thought about things, the less odd they seemed. Perhaps there was something in this case that wasn't in the file. That was true more times than not with the cases she and Mulder investigated. Scully found that most professional cops and investigators balked at the idea of placing what they really believed or had seen on paper when it seemed too outrageous. And truth was, other than being a little later than normal, Mulder was acting just like Mulder. Weird was normal here. Looking back on the morning she realized that she had just been paranoid and silly.

'From now on,' Scully thought to herself, 'I'm going to stay focused on reality.' After all, she had to make sure everything was in order for their trip later this afternoon. Luckily, she wouldn't have to go home and retrieve her bags. She kept a packed bag in her trunk at all times. 'Well…' she thought, 'till then.'

*********************

The plane trip out there was peaceful, typical, with Mulder have more fun than Scully. Scully wouldn't actually admit that she was afraid of flying, but planes had always made her a little uneasy. While Mulder played air drums with his pencil to whatever was coming out of the headphones, Scully read the in-flight magazine. The vast majority of the information was the bland, spineless feel good pieces found in all airline magazines. The rest was hotel and car rental advertisements, but it was something to read.

In the centerfold of the magazine was the premiere article with big bold letter across the top of two pages which ran 'The Hidden Lakes and Rivers of the Midwest.' Both pages were covered with more pictures than actual article and all the pictures were of wonderfully happy people hiking and fly-fishing.

Suddenly Mulder was right over her shoulder, tapping the picture of the man fly-fishing with the eraser of his pencil. "Now that's what I call a vacation." he said. Just then, the stewardess lightly tapped Scully on the shoulder and asked her what she would like to drink. As she began pouring the Diet Coke, Scully turned towards Mulder to offer a rebuttal to his remark, but he already had his head phones back on and was jamming away.

*********************

They arrived at the Wilkins County Police Station late that afternoon after checking into their motel and renting a car. Scully couldn't help but recount to herself the large number of other police stations that looked exactly like this one, down to the purple haired punk handcuffed to a bench. As Scully looked around, Mulder talked to the young officer at the front desk briefly, flashing his badge and hooking a thumb in her direction. Even though she could not hear what it was he said in the noisy station, she knew it by heart. "Hi, I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, and this is my partner, Special Agent Dana Scully. We're here to see ______________. The only difference would be the name of his contact. The young officer nodded and pointed Mulder towards the back of the building. Scully stepped forward to follow Mulder, but he turned quickly laying both his hands on her shoulders and said, "Sorry Agent Scully, I need you to stay here and look for spies." Then in a whisper in her ear, "Put on a good show for the rookie." Instantly Scully's eyes narrowed. Mulder didn't want her to come back with him? All the bells and whistles began going off in Scully's head. He was definitely hiding something. She started to tell him as much, but Mulder cut her off and gestured towards the officer at the desk, then put his finger to his lips. Scully gave him a frown to tell him she wasn't happy with his new game, but stayed put. At least she had plenty to think about.

As Mulder walked back to Sergeant Wilkins office, he knew his cover was completely blown. Spies? Had he really said spies? Egads, he should be able to think on his feet faster. He had just been sure that Scully would have been willing to stay at the motel and 'freshen' up. But no, she was fine, she would go to the station with him and now Scully would be catching on to the fact that this whole 'case' was a farce really soon. He knew he had to make his move.

"Well, I've got to give it to the 'coppers," Mulder grinned as he walked from the back of the police station, not five minutes later. "They've already caught the guy."

"They've caught him? When?" Scully asked. "Last night." Mulder replied. Just then, a big burly officer, perfection every detail to Scully's mind eye of the classic 'donut shop cop,' joined them. "Yeah, all thanks to Agent Mulder here. His profile was dead on, if you'll excuse the term." He slapped Mulder on the back. "Hit the nail on the head, so to speak. Picked the guy up outside of his hardware store." The officer held his overly large stomach as his laughed in silent mirth at his own puns. Mulder let out a smile in amusement as well. Scully was still trying to figure out just what was going on. "Well our work is done.," announced Mulder with his hands on his hips and with a small wink at Scully. She smiled back. What was he up too?

*********************

When they got back to the car, Scully turned to Mulder and asked, "Profile?"

"Well, uhh, yeah.," he answered, "I sent it along when I read the case file."

"When did you read the case file Mulder?," Scully queried, "We just got it this morning." Mulder looked over at Scully and the way she was looking back at him. Technically, she was smiling, but the smile made Mulder want to wiggle in his seat like a three-year-old. He wasn't really sure what he could say to get out of this unscathed. 

"Well, actually…", Mulder began slowly, then quickly, "I first saw the case this time last week. I just did the profile as a favor to a buddy over at VC."

"So we are out here because…?" Scully asked, "I mean, you knew the case had been solved already didn't you? Just how did you pull this off? Do you have tickets to a ball game?"

Mulder sat up strait, trying to look offended. "I did not know the case had already been solved. That was news to me as well. And just what kind of basketball team do you think a boon dock town like this has. Really Scully, I'm hurt. Sure, I kind of figured the case would be pretty open and shut. But we both really deserve a vacation, right? So I took an easy case.

Scully seemed satisfied with that answer and even smiled at him. "Sorry Mulder," she said, "I guess I've been a bit uptight lately. Easy case would be nice. But for future reference," she smiled again, "just tell me. Ok?" Mulder smiled in return. Looking to make amends for her anger, Scully began asking about the case. Mulder was glad to talk about it, as it kept him from saying anything he didn't want to just yet. And so, as they pulled out of the police station parking lot, he began to recount what he knew.

"Yeah, they actually raided this guy's place twice before they managed to catch him there. Like I always say, third times the charm." Mulder explained as the car pulled into the motel parking lot. He pulled into a free spot and shut off the engine. "What do you say to heading to the motel diner for some dinner? I'm starved." Mulder grinned. He'd win her over. This was going to be fun.

*********************

Back from dinner, Scully stood in the middle of her room, unsure what her next step should be. Should she pack? The case was over…they should go home shouldn't they? But then Mulder had remarked over dinner what a waste it would be to leave now when the rooms were paid up till the end of the week. Mulder had assured her that there was no way that the bureau could get their money back, whether they stayed or not. Did that mean he wanted to stay? Was that legal? She shook her head.

There came a quick knock on the connecting door between their rooms.

*********************

When Mulder had first suggested they go camping it sounded like great fun. After all, she hadn't been in years. And he was so excited when he talked about tents and fishing that she just kind of caught the spirit. But now… All she had brought on the trip was the business suits she always kept packed in her trunk. Not good camping material. Easy to remedy, Mulder had said. They would just visit one of the little shops in town. They had no camping gear, she had said. But Mulder already knew of a place down town that rented the stuff out. Finally she pulled out the big guns. It was unprofessional to use bureau time for camping. Surely Mulder couldn't object to that point. But he had. At first he gave her was his 'look,' but that quickly graduated to a remark about shear number of hours that they had put in outside of work, time and time again. Not to mention, they deserved a break. It was all reasonable, so finally, she relented.

The hike out to the lake had been beautiful. The air temperature was just right and every so often, Scully had felt the cool breeze on the back of her neck. Mulder led they way as if he'd been here a thousand times before. In fact, it had taken Scully a full hour to realize they were actually lost. Mulder had denied everything, but when they crossed paths with a forest ranger thirty minutes later, he seemed somewhat relieved. By the time they reached the placid lake, it was late afternoon, just perfect.

*********************

Scully sat in one of the lawn chairs they had borrowed from the motel and smiled over at Mulder. This was really more fun then she had had in years. The last time she had gone fishing was with her father and brothers when she was just a sophomore in college. That was a long time ago now.

Mulder sat next to her, his pole propped against his legs looking back and forth from a small and still quite squirmy worm and the end of his hook.

"You know, Scully," Mulder drawled, "as a kid, I was never afraid of worms, but now..." He held the worm towards her, twisting it in his fingers. "We-are-not-who-we-are," he intoned in his best B-movie monster voice. Scully let out a small laugh, and a small shudder, feeling some guilt. Perhaps they should not joke at the pain they had seen, but the humor had become so very necessary as well. Mulder must have noticed her shift in mood because he touched her arm lightly to catch her attention and said, "Lets not think today, ok?" Scully couldn't agree more.

Later that evening, after they had both agreed that the fish weren't going to bite their hooks, at least not long enough to be caught, they set up camp. Mulder had rented two little pup tents. They were easy to set up, and thus seemed like a good deal, but Mulder quickly learned why they were referred to as 'pup' tents. Although Scully could sleep inside hers without problem, Mulder couldn't. If his feet were in, his head was out, and visa versa. Scully laughed at his predicament. It was good to hear her laugh. While Mulder was trying to figure out what to do about his situation, Scully left to go and find some firewood. She wanted to get a big roaring fire going tonight. Scully knew that Mulder had brought weenies and marshmallows to roast, and she was hungry.

*********************

The next morning they both slept-in despite the hard ground beneath them. Last night had been spent roasting marshmallows, or catching them on fire in Mulder's case and telling silly, childhood ghost stories that were mere walks in the park compared to some of the stuff they had really seen. But it had been heaps of fun, more than either of them had had in a long time. When they finally did make it to bed, it was nearly sunrise.

By the time they were both actually awake enough to do something, it was nearly noon. After yesterdays embarrassing fight with the fish (who won hands down) they decided to try something else. That was when Mulder suggested they race to the top of the large rock/cliff next to their campsite. An immediate scramble ensued as they both tried to claw their way to the top. Scully made it first, and looking down on Mulder, clinging to rock, she couldn't help but laugh at the situation. It was so silly, and not the least bit like them. It was nice to completely relax for once. Scully extended her hand down ward to help hoist Mulder the rest of the way up.

Mulder grabbed her hand, looking up at her in the speckled sunlight that filtered through the trees. "Hey Scully," he said, "I've got a question I've been meaning to ask you since we got here."

"Yeah?" she queried. 

"This may sound a little silly at first, but I want you to think about this." he said, and waited for her nod. "Scully…" he paused again.

"Mulder, please hurry, I can't hold you forever, just say it already." The tension was building to a palpable level. What could he be talking about?

"Scully, I want you to marry me," every thing began to rush out, "I mean it just makes since. You know I love you, I have for years. It's just silly for us not to act on this because of the FBI or the fact that were partners. I've checked everything. It's ok, we can do this. Nothing's there to stop us…" Mulder paused a moment for his breath.

Scully had a sort of dazed questioning look on her face and then she began to shake her head, slowly at first, then faster and faster. "Mulder, your not thinking clearly…" she began to explain, but then with out realizing it she let go of Mulder's hand and without anything else to hold on to he started to fall.

"Mulder!" Scully called, but he was already on the ground struggling to breathe. Soon however, he managed to get some air in his lungs and called out, "I'm ok." (cough, cough) "I'm ok. Thank god we didn't go mountain climbing." He smiled to make his point, but Scully was already scrambling down the face of the rock. 

"Don't get up yet." she called, but he was already rising. That is until he tried to put some weight on his right ankle. Then he crumpled again in pain. Suddenly, Scully was at his side, trying to position him comfortably and check him over at the same time. When she got to his ankle, she gently removed the shoe and sock and began her probing. Mulder just gritted his teeth and tried to be brave.

Finally Scully stood up and extended her hand. "Come on," she said, "Lets get you back to camp." Mulder looked at the hand as if it were a communist traitor.

*********************

Back at camp, Scully tried to explain her response a little better as she settled Mulder in comfortable and began a more through exploration of his ankle. The swelling had already begun and she wanted to assure herself it wasn't broken before it was too swollen to tell.

"Mulder," Scully explained, "its just that we spend so much time together. We never see anyone else, this job has seen to that. I just can't convince myself that the reason you feel the way you do is more because this was meant to be and less for the lack of choice. And I don't think I can let it go any farther. It just wouldn't be fair to either of us. We must strive to be level headed." She readjusted his foot still trying to estimate the damage, but finding it difficult to concentrate. "Mulder," she tried again, but her mind was in a total fog, and she barely talk coherently, much less put up a defense worthy of Mulder, one that would convince him to see the fallacy in such a plan. For years she had imagined just what such a moment with Mulder would have been like, never expecting it to actually happen. Basing her life on the fact that it wouldn't. At least she could say she never imagined it would end up like this. She looked up at him, hoping for some help, but all she got was an eyeful of the most hurt look Mulder had ever given her. God, why was he making this so difficult? Surely he realized that something like this would never work. It was crazy. Suddenly, Mulder cried out in pain. In her confusion, she had accidentally dropped his hurt ankle to the ground. 

"A simple no would have sufficed.," he said through clenched teeth, "You don't have to cripple me for life." It took Scully a while to realize he was joking.

"Look Scully, if that's the way you feel, it won't ever be mentioned again. I promise. Indian scouts honor.," said Mulder, holding up his first two fingers in mock salute and crossing the ones on his other hand which was hidden safely behind his back, then he muttered, "I never realized you felt that way." Mulder tried to smile, but it came out pained. Scully smiled back, aware that he was trying to lighten things up with some humor, and grateful.

"Anyway," she said, "I don't think it's broken, just twisted."

*********************

Scully watched Mulder with concern. He seemed to be taking everything in stride, not how she had always pictured a man who had been thwarted in love. Scully gave a small smile, just to herself. She worried that he might be hiding what he really felt, that it would all come out later. Most of all, she worried that the wonderful friendship, the only real one she had left, was now over. Scully moved around the edge of fire to where he was sitting. She spent long enough watching the fire cast shadows on his face and wondering what was going on deep beneath. It was time to find out.

Mulder smiled up at her as she approached and sat down next to him. "How's the ankle doing?" she asked. He was sitting with the three small icepacks they'd brought to keep the drinks cold on his ankle. They were mostly unfrozen now, but Scully figured they would help a little. 

"Well," he replied, "I can't feel the pain anymore, but I think I've got frostbite." "Yeah, yeah," Scully mocked, "Here, let me have another look." Scully carefully removed the icepacks and lifted the foot so that she could see it better in the firelight. The foot was barely three inches off the ground before Mulder began to quietly encourage, "gently, gently, gently." Scully gave him a dirty look for his effort. Most of the swelling had gone down. She would wrap it tonight and tomorrow morning and he should be able to hobble out of there by mid-morning, but it would be sore for days to come.

*********************

They did manage to make it out of the woods and back into civilization alive. Mulder's ankle, however, had slowed them down considerably, and it was all but dark when they reached the car. Scully helped Mulder into the passenger side, loaded their equipment, and got into go. It was not until Scully had already buckled in, and gotten ready to step on the break that she realized that Mulder had driven them out there. As she unbuckled to pull the seat forward, she turned towards Mulder to tell him what she thought of his long legs, but he was already asleep. 'Tough vacation for him too' Scully thought with a tender smile.

*********************

'Fate, accursed, accursed fate.' Scully thought with a sarcastic smile, not two hours later. Who said speaking in italics wasn't stress relieving. She really didn't need this now. She needed to be alone with her thoughts. To work through what had been said without the influence of an ever-present Mulder. "Mulder," she said, "we really, really should have made sure of our reservations for tonight." The only response was the inquiring raised eyebrow look.

"They've given my room away. There's only the one left…" she faltered. "I don't think…"she faded off again, chewing on the side of her lip. A suggestive response was on the very tip of Mulder's tongue, but he bit it back at the last minute. He really wasn't sure what Scully's response would be. Instead, he just did his best to crack a smile. "I swear I reserved two rooms. I swear."

*********************

Mulder had offered to go to another motel. He was doing his best to be understanding. But he was also drop-dead tired, even she could see that, and she didn't feel like driving any more tonight. What possible harm could come of it? On that thought, Scully heard the shower cut off. Soon Mulder entered the room with a billow of steam, limping a little.

"Oh, that felt good." He sighed. " Sorry Scully, I guess that I'm not much of a nature boy."

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, ankles crossed, shaking her head at him. "You can say that again."

"Sorry Scully, I guess I'm…" Mulder trailed off as Scully raised her hands in protest. "Get in bed, G-man," she said. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Oh, I like it when you get like this." Mulder smiled, eyes twinkling. Scully grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed and held it over her head, feigning threat. 

"Bed, now. Sleep!" Scully barked, then smiled as Mulder snapped to attention, as best as he could, with a grin.

Scully headed for the bathroom, hotel towel in one hand and her toiletries in the other. She quietly shut the door and then laid her back against it. What was up with her? Why was she letting Mulder get to her like this? It was obvious that he was just trying to get things back to normal. So why wasn't it working?

Scully looked around the bathroom. It was in shambles. Mulder's dirty clothes were strewn haphazardly around the tiny room and every thing was covered in a cold wet film. That's what she needed—a really cold shower. Instead she settled for a luke warm bath, Mulder some how managing to have used most of the hot water in the entire motel. Or maybe it was just her. Anyway, she just needed to relax—and relax she would.

Mulder lay in bed feigning sleep. It had been almost an hour since Scully had gone in there. As he was rising in bed to go and see if she had drowned, he heard the door quietly crack open.

Mulder quickly returned to his 'sleep' as he listened for every sound she made. His ears followed her from her suitcase to the door, where she checked the lock, and to the bed. Suddenly, Mulder felt his body tense. Scully would know he wasn't sleeping. She was a doctor, after all. But if she noticed, she didn't say anything. Instead she began removing a few pillows from the bed and arranging them on the floor. Scully then moved to the armoire to get and extra blanket. The moment her back was turned, Mulder reached down, grabbing the carefully arranged pillows and placed them on the bed.

Scully turned back around with her blankets. She wasn't really looking forward to sleeping on the floor, but she trusted that more. Truth was, she really wasn't looking froward to revealing anything in her sleep that she had, up till now, only kept in her head. 

She dropped her blankets to the floor, looked up, looked back down, and then to the bed where her pillows had been hastily rearranged next to the *sleeping* Mulder. Not giving up so easily on her goal to keep as separated from him as possible, Scully grabbed at the pillows, but they wouldn't budge. Mulder's tightly fisted hand clutched the case. And still, he slept.

"Mulder, come on" she said. Finally he opened his eyes. "Your not going to sleep on the floor."

"Mulder, this definitely falls under consorting." Scully sighed, true reasoning failing her at this late hour. "I just want to get to sleep."

"By the book, always by the book…" Mulder mocked with his best puppy dog, please let me have my way, face. "Don't you trust me?"

"Mulder…please?" Scully really wasn't herself tonight. She just wanted to whine and cry and eat ice cream, but most of all, she wanted sleep.

Mulder took one look at her face and with a sigh let the pillows go. Scully nearly fell backwards. She didn't realize that she had been pulling still. Scully quickly arranged the pillows again, lay down, pulled the blanket over her and shut her eyes. Despite all she had to keep her awake, her body just gave out, dropping her into sleep.

Mulder was surprised to hear the soft purr of her sleep so quickly. Leaning over the edge of the bed as quietly as possible he whispered, "Scully," but she gave no response. He quickly threw back the covers and moved around the edge of the bed. Mulder picked her up and gently placed her into the bed. Then as carefully and as quietly as he could, knowing better than to wake her, he moved back to his side of the bed, crawled in, and pulled the covers over them both. Then even more carefully and quietly, so as not to wake the slumbering Scully, he pulled her into his arms and fell asleep. 

*********************

Scully awoke the next morning completely surrounded by warmth. Her first thought was to just close her eyes and fall back to sleep. But then her mind began to work. Doing her best to shake off the last vestiges of sleep, which still pulled at her, Scully tried to pinpoint what was wrong. She had gone to sleep on the floor, right? So why was she so cozy now? Already knowing what she would see, Scully opened her eyes. Nothing, just the bed. If Mulder had slept next to her, he was gone now. She didn't want to move. At this very moment she couldn't imagine being more comfortable. As she stretched her arms over her head, she recalled her dreams of the night before. They had been wonderful. Well, mostly wonderful anyway. For a while she had been so frightened and sad. She hadn't been able find Mulder. He was completely gone from her life. But suddenly he had appeared, as a godsend. From then on, everything had been one big happiness. Scully smiled to herself as she stretched one more time. If only life always worked out like perfect dreams. Scully stepped out of bed, nearly tripping over her blanket which had been left in a heap. Where could Mulder be? She thought for a moment that perhaps he might have gone jogging, but no, his ankle would still be too sore for that.

"Oh well," she shrugged, "There's no use standing around like a fool."

Scully headed towards the bathroom. Normally she wouldn't bother with showering, having bathed the night before, but she really needed something to wake her up. Her whole head was, once again, in a fog.

*********************

Mulder sat alone in a booth at the back of the diner sipping the strong coffee. He looked at his watch, deciding he needed to leave. Scully would be waking up soon. But the waitress seemed to have forgotten about him, something that rarely happened. 

'Oh well, it doesn't matter', Mulder thought, 'Scully'll probably sleep 'till noon.'

Mulder's mind still reeled every time he thought of last night. Imagine all those years he'd known Scully he'd barely, rarely seen her cry. Until last night. At first he had been frightened, unsure of what the soft sound had been. But then he had seen Scully, shuddering ever so softly, still sound asleep, but crying. For the life of him, he didn't know what to do. Awaken her? Question her? Perhaps it was just a dream. But no… this was Scully. He knew better than let her know he had heard her. No, he would take her little secrete to the grave. But still it weighed on him. Mulder couldn't even stand the thought of his Scully upset. But he daren't ask…Oh it always came back to that. Why? Why couldn't he just get her to open up to him? They were partners, more than partners. Damn it! They were best friends. But still they were back to square one. He wouldn't ask, and she wouldn't tell. And so, in the end, he had just taken her in his arms and held her till the storm had passed and she slept soundly again.

The bell over the door rang, announcing yet another visitor to the bustling diner. A waitress approached the newest customer. "You lookin' for that other Fed?" she asked her excitement clear. Surprised, Scully just nodded and the waitress led her back to a corner booth where Mulder sat nursing a steaming cup of coffee. The waitress refilled the barely empty cup without being asked and then turned to Scully for her order. As soon as the waitress left to get her coffee and muffin, Scully smiled at Mulder and asked, "Ditched me again, ehh?"

"Tried," was all he answered, then, "So how did you find me?"

"The waitress." Scully answered, " She must have recognized me. Anyway, she know we were both 'Feds.'" Just then the waitress returned with Scully's order. As the waitress walked away, Mulder mused, "I didn't tell her I was a Fed." He seemed to savor the term. Scully smiled and looked around. Everyone else was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt or in fishing gear. She and Mulder, however, where both dressed in full work regalia. "I guess we stick out like sore thumbs." she said lifting the lapel of her tailored jacket and pointing to his tie.

"My dear Agent Scully," the now British Mulder drawled, "How very astute of you to notice." Scully wanted to laugh and throw her cup of coffee in his face. Things were getting back to normal.

*********************

After breakfast, neither one of them had the energy to actually 'do' anything, and so they just returned to the motel room to watch some daytime television. They had propped themselves up all comfortable on the bed and turned on 'Days of Our Lives.' So far Scully was fairly certain, she hadn't missed much since she quit watching the soap opera in college. She smiled. "Well Mulder, I must say that this has been one of the best vacations I've ever taken." Scully said with a stretch, "I actually feel more relaxed." She looked at Mulder, at the way he was looking at her. She couldn't remember ever seeing that look, except for a couple of other drug induced moments. Suddenly she knew what he was about to say; she had heard it before. But now there was nothing she could chalk it up to, not drug induced stupor, no near death experience. They were both completely in charge of their feelings and themselves. Well, she wasn't entirely sure she was in charge of her own feelings, but somehow, something inside had changed within the last couple days. She felt herself wanting him to try just one more time; she wanted to prove her love to him. She could feel a kind of fright overtake her. A sort of nervousness that seemed to originate from her toes and spread throughout her body, until everything seemed to be fluttering and buzzing at once. And while she was afraid of what he might say, she knew that more than anything, she wanted to learn that he truly returned her feelings for him. 

Mulder kept looking down at her, he couldn't help himself. Within the past few minuets he had realized that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And now his close scrutiny had made her nervous, and she had begun chewing on her bottom lip. If that wasn't distracting enough… Quietly, softly, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing him closer to him. At first he was unsure she would let him hold her, but then she relaxed, and fell back with a small sigh into his side. Mulder hugged her tighter, unable to get enough of her feel. And then he felt her little arms snake around his middle and hold him back. He just closed his eyes and laid his chin against her head, then his lips. Suddenly, her face was there, the perfect blue eyes staring directly at him, and he kissed her.

*********************

On the flight home, Mulder turned to Scully, who was once again reading the in-flight magazine. He reached for her left hand, holding it between both of his, still not over his elation at her wearing his ring, but sure now that she would always be his.

"See Scully," Mulder stated, "The third time really is the charm."

"Third time, Mulder?" Scully questioned, "I only ever recall you asking me to marry you twice.

"Ah, but I've asked you before. Remember? It has been a few years now, but surely you can still recall. Back when you were vacationing in Maine. You blew me off.," he ended with a mock pout. 

"Yeah, but you were just joking then, right?" Scully smiled.

Mulder just smiled in return.

geovisit();

   [1]: mailto:stdjdr13@shsu.edu



End file.
